Seattle is the country’s second largest technology center, after Silicon Valley. Its economy is made up of a dynamic mix of everything from outdoor gear and coffee to aerospace and paper goods, with a dizzying number of yoga and tattoo studios along for the ride.

Seattle claims to be the first major American city to elect a female mayor (in the 1920s, shortly after women were allowed to vote).

Seattle has more college-educated residents than any city in the US.

Seattle supposedly has more dogs than kids. (They're cheaper.)

Seattle is jaw-droppingly beautiful. As writer Jonathan Raban noted, Seattle is "the first big city to which people have flocked in order to be closer to nature."